I’ve done poorly with blogs in the past because I’ve had problems defining their scope and breadth. I haven’t made any serious attempts in the past four years or so, largely because I haven’t felt a pressing need. I believe I’m an engaging writer, but working without an editor can lead to a lack of focus that will kill most projects.

Recently, I’ve been trying to stake my name as a writer by trade. Please allow me to explain how this ideal world works. My main pursuit outside of writing is theatrical performance, whether it’s stand-up, musical theater or film. Theater as a whole is my main passion, and I’ve learned that it’s crucial to maintain a substantial stream of secondary income while pursuing this career. Even better are the jobs where you aren’t strictly tied to a weekly schedule for retail or food service, which will definitely cause you to miss out on work.

Enter freelance writing. I’ve always harbored the ambition of becoming a top-flight writer with a Broadway play and a book on the New York Times’ Best Sellers List. But while artistic fulfillment is a great personal reward, it doesn’t feed you nearly as well as it should. I have realized, however, that there is always a need for great writing. So I’ve been chasing the jobs where my writing represents other people and businesses while I stay out of the spotlight.

I started freelancing while in college. Although I was putting in long nights and putting off a lot of fun things (my alma mater is known by many as a fantastic party school), I was finding a way to support myself that was more meaningful than grinding away in a service position. As long as I worked hard and met my deadlines, I found that I enjoyed controlling my own schedule rather than meeting a traditional workweek head-on.

Press releases. Grant proposals. Business contracts. Website copy. Proofreading. There are plenty of ways that a writer can market his talents to businesses. Aside from setting my own schedule, I freelance because I find the work invigorating. Where some might see insecurity, I see the freedom to take on projects of my own choosing, slipping between subject matter frequently and easily. I need to pay bills, sure, but I can do that and still leave time for more fulfilling projects. I have completed some pro bono projects for clients who couldn’t pay where the business response to my work has been payment enough.

I decided to make a freelance business writing career my goal since February of 2012. In that time, I have completed a curriculum document for educational theater, a few website copy jobs, brochures and press materials for a theater company and regularly paying work in online content creation. As of this moment, I freelance for a local newspaper, work as a story analyst and writer for an online media developer and create marketing materials for a NYC-based event concierge service. I am a working writer and it feels fantastic.

My hope is that this WordPress site will accomplish a few goals. First and foremost, I wouldn’t be working on this blog if I didn’t think that it might help my own business. I’m hoping that regular publication through this site will get my work noticed by companies that could use a writer. Secondly, I want this site to be educational. If I hope to draw business clients, I should post information that they’ll find useful. No matter what the writing job calls for, even projects of fiction, I’ve learned that if the information isn’t useful, you won’t gain many regular readers.

So this weekly blog will contain posts related to all facets of business writing and news on trends in business writing. When I run out of really useful things to talk about, I’ll post news about my own writing business. But every week you can count on at least one post pertaining to writing for businesses. So follow me, subscribe or bookmark the page, because I plan on coming back to this corner of the Internet often. And if you ever need a writer to clean up your latest proposal or draft an original PowerPoint presentation, drop me a line and let’s talk about how I can help you achieve your goals.

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2 Responses to First Post – Raison D’Être

Hi Steve, I sent this blog address to a bunch of artists I know, encouraging them to have you write their artist statement . I want to hire you too, but first i have to put together some scribbles.
You should have contact information on this blog, so people can get ahold of you without jumping through hoops. I look forward to reading more!

This is a FANTASTIC idea. I’m struggling along the same path right now. You’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have, of course, so I’m eager to read about your ideas and experiences on the subject, especially because you seem to have a much more logical (read: business) eye for writing that can help temper my own.

Apologies for reading this so late in the game, but at least I’m here now, right?! Haha.

Thought 1: If you need help forming your blog’s style, subject matter, etc. try “How to Blog a Book” by Nina Amir. She blogged about, well, blogging a whole book, and eventually turned it into a printed work.